Posted: 12/22/2004 9:06:50 PM EDT
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Why is Bronx County NY typically called "the Bronx" yet Queens County is just called "Queens". Why is Bronx the only county in NY that people commonly add a definitive "the" on the front??? Just curious. |
| The name came from the original settler Bronck...in turn the river that runs through The Bronx was called "The Bronck River". In time the name was spelled "Bronx". The area was named after the river. All bodies of water are preceded(sp?) with "The"...hence "The Bronx" |
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It's just what it's called. Like Grenwich Village is called "The Village" Madison Square Garden is called "The Garden" Maybe it's a derivative of "The Bronk's Settlement" If you study the history of the Hudson Valley, you will find that all of the land was originally divided up among wealthy Land Baron's. Perhaps it was "The Bronk's Spread" ? There are many Islands in the NYC metro area. Only one is called "The Island" that being Long Island, of course. But is Staten Island any less of an island? It certainly appears on a map more of an island that the sub-contintent long island is in comparison. But they you have Coney Island, which is no island at all...  And people wonder why inner city youts are bad at geography!!! 
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I think that's why New Yorkers seem either pretentious, arrogant or ignorant to us normal folks.  |
I think that's why New Yorkers seem either pretentious, arrogant or ignorant to us normal folks. But the TV shows are set here, that makes me better then people who dont have TV shows set in thier city. Im going to go hug myself and feel special now. |
PS I lived in DA Bronx for two years. All hail PS 74. Every time the movie The Wanderers comes on the tube I can see some of the scenes where I went through the 3rd and 4th grade. And it should be noted that IS when I went to PS 74 as well! dang i feel old |
Yeah, well. Either you're from New York or you're not.  Sorry things didn't work out for you my weasly little friend, you got spunk! (Before you get yer britches all bound up, it's a quote from the hit movie "Detroit Rock City" 
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Every time I visited a certain law firm in the Bronx, someone, whether it was the receptionist, one of the paralegals, or one of the attorneys, made the statement, 'You know, the Bronx is the only one of New York's boroughs that's on the mainland.' Hmmm. I suppose they hold dearly to that fact for some reason or the other. Eric The(Puzzled)Hun 
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Re: The Bronck's ... That's exactly the derivation. The family owned it, and when someone went there, they said we are going "to the Bronck's" just like someone would be going to the Smiths'. It's true, one calls Long Island "the island" and doesn't even think of Staten Island other than it's actual name. The ultimate is, of course, when someone from New York City says "New York," as in "I'm from New York." They mean only New York City. People from "upstate" say, "where in New York?" I repeat "New York CIty" or "Manhattan." We don't think of the rest of the State as anything but "Upstate" or "New York State" with the emphasis on "State." While the Bronx was considered a single entity, Queens is just a county formed of a bunch of originally smaller towns. What would look like districts on a map really were the original towns which have now grown together. Whether it be Bayside or Howard Beach, these originally were separate towns, and are in Queens County, just like so many other towns and counties in the country. |
 Fuggin A!! Aint that the truth!!! I haven't lived in Manhattan since I was a very young yout, but when my mother and I talk and NYC comes up, it still is, and will always be THE city! 
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East New York actually is a section of Brooklyn, just like Greenpoint, Bay Ridge or many others. Interesting that Brooklyn was a city unto itself until unification with the rest of New York City in the 1890's. Correct about "Upstate" though I make allowances for Yonkers, where they make Kimbers. I tend to think of Kimbers as made by my homeys. |
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In 1639, Jonas Bronck arrived in the New World. He purchased a 500 acre tract of land east of Harlem between the Harlem River and the Aquehung, which was the Native American name for the river that flows through the center of the Bronx. Bronck built a house and began to farm the land. The Native Americans called the land "Rananchqua," but the Dutch and English began to refer to it as "Broncksland." In a similar fashion, the Aquehung was soon known as Bronck's River. In time, the spelling was changed to "Bronx," and eventually the entire area adopted the name. Unlike the other boroughs, The Bronx is always referred to as "The Bronx," never just "Bronx." This is because the borough took its name from a river - the Bronx River. Generally, the word "the" precedes the names of rivers and other bodies of water; hence, the borough is known as the "The Bronx." |